Oct 21, 2016

Happy Friday

Sometimes we need less planning and more doing.
Today I am already doing a Happy Friday!

Microsoft Word Tip

Did you open up your Microsoft Word document after having worked on it all day and have trouble finding where you ended typing?
As soon as you open up your document, press SHIFT and F5.  This will take you back to your last edit.  In fact, if you press Shift-F5 repeatedly, it will take you through your last four edits. This feature disappeared briefly in version 2007, but is back in version 2010.

Honing vs. Sharpening

When most people at home use a honing steel or butcher's steel, or that long metal rod that comes in the center of a knife block, to sharpen their knives, what they are really doing is honing them.

The difference is that a honing steel straightens out the blade of a knife, making the edge straight, free of burrs, and ready to use. As you use a knife, the tip of the blade will eventually bend and curl so you don't get a real blade-on cut at the very tip. The best you can really do at home is to hone your knives regularly to keep the cutting edge straight. For most at-home cooks, this makes the knives feel sharper. To sharpen a blade, you need a knife sharpener, or stone. Attached is a video at Chow showing a visual description.

Food Marketing Expense

Seventy percent of food manufacturers’ marketing budgets goes to trade promotion fees, which is money paid to supermarkets to obtain better product placement and promotion. The other thirty percent is for advertising and product packaging.


Brand awareness only goes so far and packaging, a fine art, is used to entice us to buy, but ultimately we are swayed by what is in front of us. Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder and we buy what we see first in the store.

Four Rules of Three

The main point of the Rules of Three is that we need to concentrate on the most immediate problem first. People mainly think of these rules for being stranded in the wilderness, but they also apply in an urban setting, such as natural disaster, earthquake, flood, etc. In any extreme situation:

You can survive for 3 minutes without air (oxygen) or in icy water,
You can survive for 3 hours without shelter in a harsh environment (unless in icy water),
You can survive for 3 days without water (if sheltered from a harsh environment),
You can survive for 3 weeks without food (if you have water and shelter).

Some people have suggested a fifth rule and that is 3 months without hope.

Incidentally, if you have a stick, or knife, or any other object stuck in you, do not pull it out. The object restricts blood flow. Wrap the area around the wound and seek help as soon as possible.

Dairy and Healthy Bones Myth

Many people confuse “dairy” with “calcium,” and assume they are the same thing. Most still believe that dairy is the best thing for healthy and strong bones. Dairy contains calcium, but so do dark-leafy greens. Milk is fortified with vitamin D, as are many other foods.

Bone health goes beyond calcium and vitamin D. Vitamin K is important for bone health, dark leafy greens have it but dairy does not. Magnesium, which plays an important part of bone health, is present in foods like almonds, cashews, oatmeal, and potatoes, but missing in dairy products.

You should get enough calcium in your diet, and milk and cheese are good sources of it. However there are many other good sources. The Harvard School of Public Health and the
University of Missouri point out that milk is not the best, or only source of calcium. If you are looking for good sources of calcium and Vitamin D, consider collard greens, mustard greens, kale, and bok choy instead of milk.

Caffeine Facts

The Mayo Clinic says most healthy adults can safely consume up to 400 mg of caffeine each day.

Caffeine is
a central nervous system stimulant that makes us feel alert. It can also improve our mood and is associated with a reduced risk of depression. It can also increase our adrenaline level, which can leave us more irritable, anxious, and far more emotionally-charged. Caffeine has been shown to improve certain types of memory in some, but not all studies. Controlled amounts of caffeine can boost notable performance gains for athletes. Some studies also indicate caffeine is effective to increase long term memories. Although ingesting too much caffeine makes it difficult to focus on anything.

There is some evidence that caffeine, when combined with certain pain-relieving medications like acetaminophen, the main active ingredient in Tylenol, and aspirin, helps those medications take effect quicker, last longer, and increases their effects.
Excedrin contains caffeine.

Here are a few common sources of caffeine:

Most 12-ounce cups of coffee contain 90 to 120 mg of caffeine,
One 12-ounce cup of Starbucks contains about 260 mg,
Dunkin Donuts has 215 mg,
One 2-ounce shot of 5 hour energy contains about 215 mg,
One 12-ounce cup of McDonald's coffee has about 109 mg,
One 8-ounce can of Red Bull contains 80 mg,
One cup of brewed black tea contains about 67 mg,
One shot of espresso contains about 71 mg, (a latte is espresso plus steamed milk - cappuccino is espresso plus milk and foam),
One 12-ounce can of diet Coke has 46 grams of caffeine,
One 12-ounce can of regular Coke has 34 grams of caffeine.

Laughter and Exercise

According to researchers at Georgia State University, forced laughter incorporated into an exercise program increases the health benefits and makes older adults more likely to exercise more. Simulated laughter techniques added to a strength, balance, and flexibility workout improved older adults' performance in an exercise program and significantly improved their enjoyment.
Laughter has physical benefits, and in many cases has an effect on the muscles used during exercise programs. Forced laughter, or choosing to laugh, rather than as a response to something funny gave way to actual laughter and enjoyment for most participants in classes with laughing incorporated into physical exercises.


Laughter is an enjoyable activity and has many health benefits. In a recent study, participants experienced improvement in mental health, aerobic endurance, and outcome expectation for exercise, with 96.2 percent of participants saying laughter made exercise more enjoyable, 88.9 percent saying it made exercise more accessible and 89.9 percent saying it would motivate them to participate in more exercise classes or activities. We all need a good laugh for better mental health and to clear out the cobwebs of our mind.

Oct 14, 2016

Happy Friday

A smile is more contagious than a yawn.

Share your smiles every day, especially on a Happy Friday!